Up until 2009 MacLean was often regarded as the best forward in Devil's history and look at the kind of treatment he got.

Was he ever really treated that badly? The Devils wanted him to play more of a checking role in '97-'98; he balked at it and asked for a trade. The Devils obliged. Then he was back with the organization in a coaching capacity from 2002 on, and we all know how it went as the Devils' head coach in 2010...Lou tried to give him every chance to get it going, but clearly had to do something. I just don't see how MacLean was somehow mistreated here.

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THE NHL MUST LOVE THE DEVILS - from who else? A RANGER fan![Mark Messier]: A big, bald attention whore with a stupid Easter Island-lookin face. - from who else? DaneykoIsGod!

Even when Marty comes back maybe Larry should put Clemmensen to be on the goal during the shootouts.Can the coach do that ? Switch the goalies 5 seconds to go in overtime? - Most priceless quote ever posted on a message board.

Martin Brodeur: THE MOST ALL-TIME WINS!, 12 straight seasons of 30+ wins, 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophies, and zero respect from too many so-called Devils "fans" who are either too young or too bandwagon to remember the much darker days of Sean Burke, Craig Billington, Bob Sauve, Alain Chevrier, and the talented but overwhelmed Chico Resch, among many others.

It's easy to support a great player when he's playing at his very best. It takes a true fan to support that same player during those rare moments and stretches when he's not. Babe Ruth went 0-4 some games, and sometimes Wayne Gretzky was held pointless. There may be such a thing as greatness, but no such thing as absolute perfection every single night.

#30 FOREVER!

20 out of 1,946 njdevs.com members agree: CR1976 is the Most Knowledgable Poster of 2008! Victory is mine...oh yes, victory is mine!

Was he ever really treated that badly? The Devils wanted him to play more of a checking role in '97-'98; he balked at it and asked for a trade. The Devils obliged. Then he was back with the organization in a coaching capacity from 2002 on, and we all know how it went as the Devils' head coach in 2010...Lou tried to give him every chance to get it going, but clearly had to do something. I just don't see how MacLean was somehow mistreated here.

I was more talking along the lines of when contract time is coming up. Stevens and Brodeur get passes yet MacLean never did in his entire time here.

Actually, this had more to do with a good team and goaltending than Kovy. Carter, Clarkson and Zach played far more pivotal roles, especially when it counted in the playoffs. Salvador was a shut-down defensemen and filled a big void at the blueline when it counted.

Really? Zach??? Zach played a far more pivotal role in the playoffs than Kovalchuk?

I was more talking along the lines of when contract time is coming up. Stevens and Brodeur get passes yet MacLean never did in his entire time here.

Different era, and unfortunately Mac was never the same after his ACL injury. He did have those three years of 42, 41, and 45 goals, but that came in the Live Puck Era, where 40+ goals wasn't as big of a deal. Mac was important in his own way, in that he was truly the symbol of the team he was playing for, for most of his Devil career...just like his Devils, MacLean was fighting for every inch and every last bit of respect he could get. I think he was one of the most important players in helping the organization make the transition from afterthought to contender, but I can't put him on Stevens' and Brodeur's level. Stevens and Brodeur are Hall Of Famers, all-time greats who were among the best at their positions. MacLean was a good player who put up some nice numbers in an era full of nice numbers. Not minimizing his importance, and he's still my favorite all-time Devil, but I don't think he was ever worthy of Stevens/Brodeur treatment.

Edited by Colorado Rockies 1976, 10 April 2013 - 12:08 PM.

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THE NHL MUST LOVE THE DEVILS - from who else? A RANGER fan![Mark Messier]: A big, bald attention whore with a stupid Easter Island-lookin face. - from who else? DaneykoIsGod!

Even when Marty comes back maybe Larry should put Clemmensen to be on the goal during the shootouts.Can the coach do that ? Switch the goalies 5 seconds to go in overtime? - Most priceless quote ever posted on a message board.

Martin Brodeur: THE MOST ALL-TIME WINS!, 12 straight seasons of 30+ wins, 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophies, and zero respect from too many so-called Devils "fans" who are either too young or too bandwagon to remember the much darker days of Sean Burke, Craig Billington, Bob Sauve, Alain Chevrier, and the talented but overwhelmed Chico Resch, among many others.

It's easy to support a great player when he's playing at his very best. It takes a true fan to support that same player during those rare moments and stretches when he's not. Babe Ruth went 0-4 some games, and sometimes Wayne Gretzky was held pointless. There may be such a thing as greatness, but no such thing as absolute perfection every single night.

#30 FOREVER!

20 out of 1,946 njdevs.com members agree: CR1976 is the Most Knowledgable Poster of 2008! Victory is mine...oh yes, victory is mine!

Up until 2009 MacLean was often regarded as the best forward in Devil's history and look at the kind of treatment he got.

This will always kill me. I love MacLean, he was my favorite Devil growing up. Watching him go down in flames crushed me more than the team's miserable record and play. I don't think I'll ever get over it. It's not quite on the level of some of our worst games that I will never forget, but it's up there on my top 5 list of my most painful moments of being a Devils fan.

This will always kill me. I love MacLean, he was my favorite Devil growing up. Watching him go down in flames crushed me more than the team's miserable record and play. I don't think I'll ever get over it. It's not quite on the level of some of our worst games that I will never forget, but it's up there on my top 5 list of my most painful moments of being a Devils fan.

Watching Mac fail as a head coach was hard for me too. I think if Mac had been almost anyone else, Lou would've fired him 5-10 games earlier than he did. Like everyone else, I think Lou REALLY wanted it to work for Johnny Mac.

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THE NHL MUST LOVE THE DEVILS - from who else? A RANGER fan![Mark Messier]: A big, bald attention whore with a stupid Easter Island-lookin face. - from who else? DaneykoIsGod!

Even when Marty comes back maybe Larry should put Clemmensen to be on the goal during the shootouts.Can the coach do that ? Switch the goalies 5 seconds to go in overtime? - Most priceless quote ever posted on a message board.

Martin Brodeur: THE MOST ALL-TIME WINS!, 12 straight seasons of 30+ wins, 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophies, and zero respect from too many so-called Devils "fans" who are either too young or too bandwagon to remember the much darker days of Sean Burke, Craig Billington, Bob Sauve, Alain Chevrier, and the talented but overwhelmed Chico Resch, among many others.

It's easy to support a great player when he's playing at his very best. It takes a true fan to support that same player during those rare moments and stretches when he's not. Babe Ruth went 0-4 some games, and sometimes Wayne Gretzky was held pointless. There may be such a thing as greatness, but no such thing as absolute perfection every single night.

#30 FOREVER!

20 out of 1,946 njdevs.com members agree: CR1976 is the Most Knowledgable Poster of 2008! Victory is mine...oh yes, victory is mine!

I know Lou does what Lou does. I've accepted that a long time ago and he does come off very often as stubborn and cold.

While there are plenty of free agents that Lou could have thrown tons of money left and would have made no difference, I wonder how many players he could have kept just by maybe opening at least some dialogue before that short period between the end of the season and free agency start.

This is not the first time a current or former player has said they feel a tiny bit disrespected and hurt by this tactic.

Patrik's posturing, and who can blame him. I wouldn't look too far into his words, he's probably coming back for a year or two at a fair rate...

I'd be seriously baffled to see him go elsewhere. My guess is he signs for 2 more years for somewhere around $4-5M. Jagr got $4.55M from Dallas. That's on one year, so I think we can probably sign Elias to a similar number.

Edge - I agree, the fact that Elias is still one of, if not the best/most efficient skater on the team should be a great indicator of how his play will be next year and the year after. When guys get older, it's not like they forget how to score or can't anymore, they get slower and they become easier to stop. If Elias can still play at a fast pace, he'll put up points.

I'd be seriously baffled to see him go elsewhere. My guess is he signs for 2 more years for somewhere around $4-5M. Jagr got $4.55M from Dallas. That's on one year, so I think we can probably sign Elias to a similar number.

I would not be. We all know Patty's history here, and he has been a top player every season. The fact that Lou is pulling his "no contract talk during the season" shenanigans is ridiculous. He needs to retire that idiotic policy immediately. He made an exception for Zajac a few months back, how about some respect for one of the next 2 guys to have their name and number in our rafters?!?!?

the problem is and Lou doesnt seem to recognize this... we're not dealing from a higher ground like we always did... the team is not that attractive anymore.. we're not a guarantee show in the playoffs anymore, do i want to sign to a team where in 2 years theres HUGE questions in net and even who will be GM by half of my contract?

i mean im pretty damn sure part of the decision for Zach to jump ship was based on that... the wilds are young and have a really deep group of prospects and you know the best is ahead of that team... seems like it was the opposite for the Devils... aging group with lots of question marks about the future, even the ownership situation was shacky...

I would not be. We all know Patty's history here, and he has been a top player every season. The fact that Lou is pulling his "no contract talk during the season" shenanigans is ridiculous. He needs to retire that idiotic policy immediately. He made an exception for Zajac a few months back, how about some respect for one of the next 2 guys to have their name and number in our rafters?!?!?

If Elias didn't like he could have left years ago, he didn't and I could care less about Lou's FA policy. It is what it is and it's worked well enough up to this point and I still don't feel like that's the reason Zach left, so I don't see your point at all.

If Elias didn't like he could have left years ago, he didn't and I could care less about Lou's FA policy. It is what it is and it's worked well enough up to this point and I still don't feel like that's the reason Zach left, so I don't see your point at all.

I will make it easy to understand for you. If the PLAYERS that will become FA's prefer to talk about their contract during the season, YOU DO IT!! (assuming you want to sign the player) I think everyone here would agree that unless Elias is demanding absurd money or contract length, the Devils would like to resign him. What does Lou see as a benefit of this policy?!? How do you think Patty feels about the organization right now, given that he has heard nothing about the contract, but he saw Lou break his own rule for Travis recently?!? It obviously bothers some guys, and if Patty is talking about it to the media I do not think it is too difficult to see what is going on. I also believe, if the Devils pushed for Parise during the season he may have signed with us......that we will never know.

Official NJDevs.com Keeper of Gory Corey Schwab, Mike Peluso, Troy Crowder, Jeff Frazee, and Rich Shulmistra."The Devils are that zombie that takes an ax to the skull, a bullet to the temple and is set on fire … and yet keeps lumbering along to the annoyance of all the other zombies." - Puck Daddy

Just remember that younger, newer, and different doesn't always equal better. You're used to seeing your team make the playoffs almost every single year. Not a lot of fans can say that. And even though the Devils have had their share of first-round hiccups (when they were high-seeded favorites), they've been to five SCF since '95. Like DD56 says...careful what you wish for.

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THE NHL MUST LOVE THE DEVILS - from who else? A RANGER fan![Mark Messier]: A big, bald attention whore with a stupid Easter Island-lookin face. - from who else? DaneykoIsGod!

Even when Marty comes back maybe Larry should put Clemmensen to be on the goal during the shootouts.Can the coach do that ? Switch the goalies 5 seconds to go in overtime? - Most priceless quote ever posted on a message board.

Martin Brodeur: THE MOST ALL-TIME WINS!, 12 straight seasons of 30+ wins, 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophies, and zero respect from too many so-called Devils "fans" who are either too young or too bandwagon to remember the much darker days of Sean Burke, Craig Billington, Bob Sauve, Alain Chevrier, and the talented but overwhelmed Chico Resch, among many others.

It's easy to support a great player when he's playing at his very best. It takes a true fan to support that same player during those rare moments and stretches when he's not. Babe Ruth went 0-4 some games, and sometimes Wayne Gretzky was held pointless. There may be such a thing as greatness, but no such thing as absolute perfection every single night.

#30 FOREVER!

20 out of 1,946 njdevs.com members agree: CR1976 is the Most Knowledgable Poster of 2008! Victory is mine...oh yes, victory is mine!

i made that remark before but Lou is exactly like George Lucas and Steve Jobs...

nobody in the world can deny the good they did. But they all dealt and made things their way in a very oldschool and hard ass fashion and lots of people dealing with them often said it was hell. But when you look at the whole picture its mostly great but there's still flaws...

and in all case... the fan base is split in half where theres an half who get sick of some stuff and rage about it and the other half who see them literally as Gods will see it as a sacrilege to even talk bad about their ultimate God. And they'll brush off the flaws denying them and make excuses for them.

seriously. it's the saaaame thing.

i LOVE and im PASSIONATE about the Devils, Mac products and Star Wars... But i HATE Lou's stubbornness, that i can run flash on my iphone/ipad and Jar Jar Binks. (and yes Solo DID shot first!) and i don't think i should be called out pointing those things out

i made that remark before but Lou is exactly like George Lucas and Steve Jobs...

nobody in the world can deny the good they did. But they all dealt and made things their way in a very oldschool and hard ass fashion and lots of people dealing with them often said it was hell. But when you look at the whole picture its mostly great but there's still flaws...

and in all case... the fan base is split in half where theres an half who get sick of some stuff and rage about it and the other half who see them literally as Gods will see it as a sacrilege to even talk bad about their ultimate God. And they'll brush off the flaws denying them and make excuses for them.

seriously. it's the saaaame thing.

i LOVE and PASSIONATE about the Devils, Mac products and Star Wars... But i HATE Lou's stubbornness, that i can run flash on my iphone/ipad and Jar Jar Binks. (and yes Solo DID shot first!) and i don't think i should be called out pointing those things out

who's with me ? haha

But on the same token, apple, Star Wars and the Devils don't exist as they do today without those men. Sometimes you need to accept the good with the bad. (And YES Hans shot first! He was badass!!!)

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Official NJDevs.com Keeper of Gory Corey Schwab, Mike Peluso, Troy Crowder, Jeff Frazee, and Rich Shulmistra."The Devils are that zombie that takes an ax to the skull, a bullet to the temple and is set on fire … and yet keeps lumbering along to the annoyance of all the other zombies." - Puck Daddy

But on the same token, apple, Star Wars and the Devils don't exist as they do today without those men. Sometimes you need to accept the good with the bad. (And YES Hans shot first! He was badass!!!)

exactly but admit that its QUITE REFRESHING that J.J. Abrams is taking over Star Wars. For Apple and the Devils i think it's gonna be the same, the values will be kept but maybe both succeeders will give more freedom or liberties and that will be refreshing too.